John Winchester is far from the most popular character in Supernatural. The fact that he went to Hell for his sons and endured being tortured for over a century without giving in is remarkable. And yet, the fanbase tends to his flaws very clearly, which, ittedly, is hard to argue against.
Over the show’s lifespan, the younger John was also seen being very different from the man he became. The years he spent raising his children in the hunter environment took their toll, and he did things that aren’t exactly the best. Here are 10 ways that John Winchester got worse and worse in his lifetime.
He Ingrained A Soldier Mentality Into Dean
While Dean’s list of kills is cool and all, John is responsible for turning him into something of a machine when hunting. As seen in flashbacks, young Dean had a liking toward cooling off and engaging in activities like playing games. However, John would eventually deny Dean these moments of comfort and make him focus solely on hunting.
The result of this was Dean being unable to separate John from being his father to being his boss. Sadly, this was a far cry from the young John who had tucked Dean in for bed when he was a child.
He Stopped Considering Sam's Feelings
Unlike with Dean, John had more of a soft spot for Sam. The younger sibling wasn’t treated as harshly, at least until he was a teenager. Later on, though, John would begin to overlook Sam’s feelings as well.
Sam would reveal how John stopped listening to his feelings and wouldn’t consider what he wanted in life. While John had been more caring when Sam was younger, he completely disregarded his son’s feelings as he got older.
He Became Obsessive With His Ultimate Goal
John entered the hunter life after the Prince of Hell Azazel killed Mary. Revenge was the major factor for him, yet he did complete hunts to save people. This seemed to last in his initial days only, though, as John became absolutely obsessed with killing Azazel later.
It got to the point where he even got his own sons in danger if it meant getting to the demon. Along the way, John lost sight that the death of Azazel was to ensure he didn’t kill other innocent people. In its place, he ended up making it his life’s mission purely as an obsession.
He Started Cutting People Out Of His Life
One of the reasons why Bobby is seen as a better father than John is that the former was very forgiving. As seen in the young John from ‘70s, he had once been very courteous and maintained good relations, the older John not so much.
John’s lack of effort in keeping things civil with those he felt did him wrong got so bad that he cut Sam out of his life. He also did this with his allies in Bobby and many other hunters, most of whom had burned bridges with John due to the latter’s own decision.
He Didn't Bother With Completing His Hunts Later On
There’s no doubt that John faced and beat extremely dangerous monsters. His best performances, though, were at the beginning of his hunting career. It’s apparent he stopped getting the job fully done in later years.
The biggest impact this had was when the ghoul he had killed turned out to have children, who in turn brutalized and devoured John’s youngest son Adam. Basically, John developed a lack of professionalism by simply dealing with a monster and failing to follow up with the consequences.
He Stopped Taking His Sons For Vacation
For all his faults as a father, it appears John had initially cared enough for Sam and Dean to take them for vacations. The brothers have brought up numerous trips like going to the Grand Canyon or spending Christmas, but these were strictly during their younger years.
As they became teenagers, John stopped taking them for much-needed breaks and made them dive fully into their hunting exploits. The younger John might have cut them some slack, but the older one didn’t have any care for this.
He Became Inclined To Use Family As An Excuse
This is something that Dean developed over the years as well, with John originally being the one to use the family card. Although he didn’t exactly raise them right, John argued that he did bring the boys up which meant Dean and Sam had to do what he wanted since they were family.
The younger John had valued a person’s nature more than simple familial relation, but he got worse in this regard over the years. Near the end of his life, John would invoke the family card as a kind of emotional blackmail to get his sons to fall in line.
He Created An Idyllic Image Of Mary
Little was known about Mary Winchester until she was resurrected. One of the things that became apparent was that John created an idyllic image of Mary and their marriage over the years. When in Heaven, Dean recalled a memory from his toddler days where John and Mary had issues.
After her death, though, John took to placing their time together as being absolutely perfect. This messed up with his own head as John could never move on from her. It also led to Sam and Dean thinking of Mary as a perfect mother and were disappointed when she turned out to be far from it.
His Tendency To Keep Information In The Dark
John might have been tough on his sons during their youth, but he had at least kept them in the loop. Afterward, this level of honesty was phased out as John held his cards very close to his chest. In fact, the brothers learned most of John’s exploits after his death.
The biggest one had to be the revelation that they had a younger half-brother all these years. Other secrets were found out through John’s journal, which he hadn’t thought to share with his sons.
His Habit Of Providing Validation To His Sons To Get What He Wanted
As Sam and Dean aged out of their adolescent stage, John developed a habit of dangling his validation as motivation for them to follow his course. This was worse than when he’d outright told them what to do, as making his sons seek his validation played with their emotions.
John would bring out his sensitive side and praise the son he was speaking to over a certain quality, which influenced them to make him proud. While Sam caught on to this, Dean never stopped seeking John’s approval.